View CDXML files in your browser
ChemDraw's drawings as XML, which scripts, RDKit and electronic lab notebooks read and write. Open a CDXML right here, drawn as ChemDraw drew it. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your drawing opens as ChemDraw laid it out on white paper, every structure, arrow, bracket and text where it was put.
- Skeletal formulas • Wedges, hashes and a ring's double bonds inside it
- Pick an atom • Its element, hydrogens and charge
- Each molecule's formula • And its weight
- Export • Save as SVG, PNG, MOL or PDF
About CDXML
CDXML is ChemDraw's XML file: the same objects as its binary CDX, written as elements and attributes, so scripts can make and change drawings and other apps can read them. RDKit, Open Babel and electronic lab notebooks read it, and journals take it beside CDX.
A page element holds fragments of atoms (n) and bonds (b), texts (t) with styled runs (s), reaction arrows, brackets, curves and shapes, each with its place in points. The colortable and fonttable at the top give every color and font the drawing names by number.
Filepeek reads it in your browser and draws the page where ChemDraw put everything: skeletal formulas with their wedges, hashes and wavy bonds, a ring's double bonds drawn inside it, labels with their hydrogens, charges and isotopes, and the page's arrows, brackets, boxes and text. It works out each molecule's formula and weight, a pick on an atom names it, Text shows its XML, and Export saves the drawing as SVG, PNG or PDF, or its molecules as a MOL.
ChemDraw XML drawing
.cdxml
Format
- MIME type
- chemical/x-cdxml
- Made by
- CambridgeSoft for ChemDraw, now Revvity Signals
Inside the file
- Objects
- XML elements
- Places
- Points
- Text
- Styled runs
- Written as
- XML text
Opens in every browser
Filepeek opens CDXML files in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, on phones too. On their own, browsers download them or show them as XML.
- YouChromeOpens through Filepeek
- YouEdgeOpens through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxOpens through Filepeek
- YouSafariOpens through Filepeek
Apps that open CDXML
- WindowsChemDraw • ChemDoodle and Open Babel read it
- MacChemDraw • ChemDoodle and Open Babel read it
- iPhone and iPadNo app opens it
- AndroidNo app opens it
Questions
How do I open a CDXML file without ChemDraw?
Drop it on this page or choose Peek a CDXML. The drawing opens in your browser as ChemDraw laid it out, with nothing to install.
What's the difference between CDX and CDXML?
They hold the same drawing. CDX is binary and smaller, CDXML is XML that scripts and other apps read and write. Filepeek draws both the same way.
Can I see the XML itself?
Yes. Text shows the file as it is, its elements and attributes, and Tree sums up what it draws.
Can I get the molecule out of it?
Yes. Choose Export, then Save as MOL, which RDKit, Open Babel, MarvinSketch and every chemistry database read.